


A Question for the Ages

by LizzyLovesPink



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Aromantic, Asexual Character, Canon - Manga, Canon Asexual Character, Crystal Tokyo Era, Friendship, Gen, Manga Appearances, Nineties, One-Shot, Past Present Future, Platonic Relationships, Present Tense, Reincarnation, Self-Discovery, Silver Millennium Era, background romantic relationships, discussion of sexuality, rule of three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26195035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Across three timelines, the Senshi of Time wonders why falling in love is so easy for those around her and not herself. Is there something wrong with her, or is she just destined to be this way? Curious, she asks three different people close to her what's up, and each time, hears exactly what she needs to hear.
Relationships: Aino Minako & Meiou Setsuna, Chibiusa & Meiou Setsuna, Chibiusa/Tomoe Hotaru, Kaiou Michiru/Tenoh Haruka, Meiou Setsuna & Tomoe Hotaru, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28
Collections: Gen and Aro Prompts (Any fandom)





	A Question for the Ages

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [DentistsScareMe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DentistsScareMe/pseuds/DentistsScareMe) in the [GenAndAroPrompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GenAndAroPrompts) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> any fandom.
> 
> One character feels like they are unlovable because they've never been interested in romance before. Fortunately, another shows up to tell them exactly what they need to hear.
> 
> -
> 
> Hope you like this! I'm super late on the prompt but I thought it'd be fun since I heavily headcanon this character as being asexual and there's evidence in canon supporting that.

Princess Pluto, contrary to popular belief, is not entirely alone. She has her fellow Outer Princesses to keep her company; Uranus and Neptune, whom she sees on occasion, and of course Princess Saturn, whom she sees the most. It's a lonely existence for the four princesses of the outer solar system, destined to protect the solar system as a whole from outside threats, but it's an existence only these four are emotionally prepared for. They live in their own individual castles but have ways of communicating with each other, and they all have a painting of their beloved queen and princess. 

Still, there is something that's been on Pluto's mind as of late. She is not entirely privy to gossip, but she does know the more popular stories that get whispered all the way out here in the darker parts of the solar system, and lately the gossip of the day is of Princess Serenity and her illicit love for the prince of Earth, Prince Endymion. Pluto isn't surprised at that, she's young and rebellious and a teenager, and no Lunar husband was in the works for her, so it seemed almost expected in a way. Pluto doesn't meddle in that though. Still, she starts to wonder. Princess Serenity found her prince, and her bodyguards, the princesses of the inner solar system, have been whispered to have found their own. Even romance can be found this far out in the galaxy, as the last time the princesses all formally got together, Uranus and Neptune made it official that they were together. 

Pluto has servants and maids, she is a princess, even if it weren't responsible, it wouldn't be forbidden for her to shackle up with one of them. She even supposes Uranus and Neptune wouldn't mind a third wheel on occasion. Yet the thought of anything related to romance or intimacy is barely a thought on her mind. At first she assumed it was because she never found the right guy, then the right girl, then just the right person at all, yet all of her relationships fall flat because she can never truly return the other person's love. 

Which leads her to stand out on her balcony one night, thinking to herself. Even little Princess Saturn is said to have a cute stableboy boyfriend, but Pluto has nobody. She supposes it doesn't bother her that much, but she does have to wonder, is she just....wrong, somehow? Everyone else found someone, and she's stuck alone, unable to properly love someone. 

"Something on your mind?" Princess Saturn's voice reaches her, and Pluto looks up to see her suddenly perched on the balcony rim. "You have a look in your eyes that says you're thinking hard about something," 

"Princess Saturn," She begins before hesitating slightly. "Is there....something wrong with not being interested in romance? Everyone else seems perfectly content and find it easy to fall in love, yet I...I am not so lucky. Is there something wrong with me?" 

"Is it hard for you to fall in love?" 

"I don't know. I only know thoughts of that nature never cross my mind. Romantic love, for I do love our princess and queen dearly, but romantic love..." 

Saturn nods in understanding, looking out at the sky. "I don't think you're wrong if you don't ever fall in love. Love...is a confusing thing, sometimes. I think some people don't mean to fall into it. And others are perfectly happy never falling into it at all. Are you happy?" She looks back at Pluto. 

"Yes. Somehow, I feel happy despite being like this. That's why...I don't think it's wrong," 

"That's the important part. I don't think it's wrong either. I think you're more passionate than people take you for, and that's okay," 

Pluto smiles at her in understanding. She may not have a word for what she feels, but somehow, she knows it's right. It's okay to feel the way that she does. 

\----

Setsuna Meioh, contrary to popular belief, is not entirely alone. She has Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh to keep her company at first, serious yet impulsive, and later on Hotaru Tomoe joins and makes them a small family, and as time passes and more bonds are formed, the Inner Senshi earn their trust and Chibiusa Tsukino becomes a close friend, same with Usagi Tsukino, and she also prefers the company of Ami Mizuno and Minako Aino. It's not an entirely lonely existence, though she still has other duties, more mature and important duties, such as preventing intruders from the outside galaxies from coming in and wrecking havoc, which prevent her from being around anyone other than the other three Outer Senshi at times. Even in her civilian form, she knows she's physically the oldest; she attends university and plans on getting a degree in both physics and fashion history. The only thing that keeps her going some days are the thoughts of her beloved princess and her family in the future, keeping a picture of them on her desk. 

Still, there's something that's been on Setsuna's mind as of late. Haruka and Michiru are as close as they've ever been, the younger Inner Senshi are as boy-crazy as ever, Usagi and Mamoru are dating, and even Hotaru and Chibiusa are taking advantage of their youth to experiment with each other. Setsuna isn't jealous, not at all. Jealousy is a petty emotion that one as mature and experienced as her shouldn't feel. Everything happens for a reason, everything is destined. Instead, she feels....strange. She is no stranger to getting attention purely for her looks; the Senshi in general look, for lack of a better term, _alien_ in comparison to their peers, though it's not anything they can specifically help. The Inner Senshi get off easier by simply having weird hair and eye colours they can explain away, but the Outer Senshi look as strange and exotic as their odd and outer-placed worlds. Haruka and Michiru have hair that shimmer in storms, Hotaru has an ever-fluctuating physical appearance, and Setsuna herself has long green hair and dark skin and deep red eyes, not to mention she's extremely tall. People take notice of those things, though not all attention is necessarily bad. 

Men have asked her many times to go out with them on campus, and Setsuna agrees, only to break it off after a time. She's briefly considered trying with women, but even the few brave ones do nothing for her. It's gotten to the point where she's wondering if it's not them but her, if she has something inherently wrong with her. Why else do the others fall into love so easily and not her? 

Out of options and answers, Setsuna turns to the one person she knows will have an answer for her-Minako Aino, the Senshi of Love. 

"Setsuna-san! I wasn't expecting you!" Minako gasps in surprise when Setsuna catches her outside of school. For once, she's alone; Makoto, Usagi, and Ami are nowhere to be seen. 

"Want to get some ice-cream with me? I have something I need to ask you," She says seriously, and Minako's own chipper tone fades. 

"What is it? Senshi business?" She whispers, but Setsuna shakes her head. 

"Something...personal. You're the Senshi of Love, so you likely know all sorts of things about romance, right?" 

"Ooooh, is Setsuna-san having boy trouble? You called the right person! Matchmaker Venus is ready to work!" She poses with a smile. 

"Not exactly." 

They got their ice-cream and sat down in the park; Minako with a colourful popsicle and Setsuna with a simple vanilla cone. 

"It's been on my mind lately. I've been with many people but can't seem to connect with them in any meaningful way. Do not misunderstand me, I am capable of loving someone deeply; I love our princess. However, that is not romantic love. Romantic love, intimate feelings...I struggle with those. I do not think I have them. Do you think that I am...unlovable? That I'm wrong?" She begins, unsure. 

Minako gasps and shakes her head. "Absolutely not! Everyone is deserving of love! Love isn't just romantic, you know!" She exclaims. "And you know, I think more people should know that. Just because you don't love someone romantically or whatever doesn't make you less of a person. Love is such a special emotion, it shouldn't just be limited to romance or...naughty things. I think you're a deeply passionate woman, Setsuna-san, whether you love someone in a romantic sense or not," 

Setsuna nods. "So you don't think that I'm...wrong? Or being selfish in some way?" 

"Not at all! Honestly, I think it would be boring if everyone just fell in love and that was that. Easy and expected, but boring," She glances away and Setsuna sees a brief flash of sorrow in her eyes before she turns back around and they're bright again. "Anyway, that's just what I think. It's not bad if you never fall in love with someone," 

Setsuna nods again. "I understand." There might not have been a word for how she felt, but she still felt satisfied in a way. Leave it to Minako to understand exactly what she needed to hear, despite her airhead status. Setsuna may continue to try and learn more about how she felt, if only to put a proper word to it, but at the moment, she feels satisfied, knowing she isn't strange in some way. She is just herself. 

\----

Sailor Pluto, contrary to popular belief, is not entirely alone. Her one and only job is to guard the Door of Space and Time and prevent intruders from trying to enter Crystal Tokyo, but her job is not entirely lonely. Her most favourite person in the whole entire world, Small Lady, visits her nearly every single day, so she has something to look forward to. She is always uncertain of how many exact years pass as she stands there; even using Small Lady's physical growth isn't a good indication, as aging in Crystal Tokyo has almost stopped completely. It's why she herself hasn't aged a physical day past her mid-twenties, even though she knows it's been hundreds and hundreds of years at that point. Still, it's a more concrete method of time measuring than anything else. 

Because she's alone by herself so much, she finds a lot of time to think and to let her mind wander. She wonders what Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune have been up to lately. They used the lessons learned from their younger selves and instead travel around the known universes, making alliances and keeping diplomacy with other alien races and their Sailor Senshi. Last she heard, they were still together as a couple, which doesn't surprise her. She feels as though they will be together until time itself ends. She rarely sees Sailor Saturn despite being a favourite handmaiden and rumored girlfriend of Small Lady; nowadays she supposes she stays in her own castle, waiting for a sign of when she can drop her Silence Glaive and end the world. The Inner Senshi spend all of their time with Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion, protecting and serving them as well as training Small Lady to be a proper Sailor Senshi. 

King Endymion...the one man she admires. If she was younger, she would've assumed she was in love with him, but now that she is older and wiser, she chalks it up to admiration. How could one not admire what a good yet just king he is, making life better for the citizens of Crystal Tokyo? 

"Puu!" Small Lady greets cheerfully, stepping out in a bubblegum pink ensemble. Despite being sixteen, or Crystal Tokyo's version of sixteen anyway, she still refers to Sailor Pluto using her old nickname she gave her when she was a very little baby. 

"Hello yourself, Your Highness. Skipping out on lessons again?" She smiles politely, curtsying a bit. 

"I'm not, believe it or not!" Small Lady is nearly the splitting image of her mother when she was that age; except with pink hair and red eyes. "There's something I wanted to tell you and Lady Venus gave me permission to do so!" 

"Oh? And what is it?" She asks curiously. 

"Well....you know how, when you were younger, you really wanted to know a word for how you felt? Because you felt weird a lot and wanted to put a word to it?" 

Sailor Pluto had nearly forgotten. Indeed, why did she have to waste time thinking about romance, something she had no interest in, when she had far more important and pressing duties now? Still, she'd humor the princess. "Yes?" 

"Evidently, there _is_ a word! It was coined in the 2010's and is used to describe someone who doesn't feel any sexual attraction, and another for no romantic attraction. Asexual, and aromantic! Together, they're called aroace, I think." Small Lady recites. Sailor Pluto nearly chuckles. She must've read that word-for-word in one of Lady Mercury's textbooks. "Lots of people nowadays identify themselves as being aroace. Does that sound right?" 

Sailor Pluto nods, thinking it over. She certainly had no romantic nor sexual desire, and for the longest time believed it was odd considering how easily everyone else around her seemed to fall in love. Yet...there was a word for how she felt. It wasn't strange nor odd at all. And for the word to be _that_ old and yet so relevant...

Finally, she had the answer she had unknowingly craved to hear for so long. 

"Yes. I do believe that I'm aroace." The word feels right, sliding off her tongue. "I feel as though I have always been that, even in the far distant past," She rarely thought about her past self as Princess Pluto, if she ever did, but the faint trickles of memories she did remember seemed to prove that to her. 

"See? The others will be so happy to know you've discovered yourself!" She tightly hugs Sailor Pluto, and Pluto gives her a hug back. "I guess I have to return to my lessons now," 

"Yes, you do," She curtsies and waves to the princess as she slips back inside the door. Once she's gone, a genuine smile appears on Sailor Pluto's face as she returns to her post. 

At long last, she has a way to properly describe the way she's felt for years. She's aroace. And she likes it that way.


End file.
